The Top 10 Best Horror Movies by Hispanic Directors

5. Tigers Are Not Afraid

We go from creepy kids to some genuinely adorable ones. However, the situation that they’re placed in is absolutely heartbreaking. Director Issa López dives into the dark underbelly of Mexico and just how far reaching the crimes are as she showcases the unintended victims. Specifically children whose parents become casualties of human trafficking. Two of these orphans end up in the cross hairs of a local cartel when they find a phone with an incriminating video on it. What makes Tigers Are Not Afraid such an engrossing film is that López injects a dark fantasy aspect by giving the protagonist three wishes to use over the course of the story. Now, if these wishes turned out to be all bunnies and rainbows, Tigers Are Not Afraid wouldn’t be on this list of horror movies by Hispanic directors. No, these are twisted monkey-paw wishes that somehow always manage to make things worse. Fair warning, Tigers Are Not Afraid is a fearless film when it comes to the unflinching way it follows this tale no matter where it goes.

4. Sleep Tight

When I started on this list of horror movies by Hispanic directors I knew that I was going to include one of Jaume Balagueró’s on here. I just had no idea which one to choose. Torn between his epic rage zombie flick [REC] and his horrifying home invasion film Sleep Tight. In the end, I had to go with the one that still has me checking the closet and underneath my bed before I go to sleep some nights. It is a gut-wrenching look at the inner workings of a psychopath who has become fixated on a woman in his building. Working as the doorman for the residents of the apartments gives him access to her home where he begins to psychologically torment her. When he fails to break her spirit, he escalates his mind games to the extreme. Luis Tosar gives a chilling performance that is both repulsive and captivating. Like a lot of the films on this list, Sleep Tight is hard to watch, but it’s brilliantly executed and never loses sight of just how appalling it’s subject matter can get. It’s horrible and incredible at the same time. 

3. Mama

One of my favorite up and coming Hispanic directors is Andy Muschietti out of Argentina. Audiences might know him best for the recent It: Chapter 1 and It: Chapter 2 adaptations that were tremendous box office successes. However, I’m choosing to spotlight his first feature-length film, Mama. When I first saw Mama in theaters I knew it was something special because it featured one of the most terrifying ghosts I have ever seen on the big screen. Everything about Edith Brennan’s design was pure nightmare fuel and I fell in love with how effortlessly unnerving she was without being too over the top thanks to masked actor extraordinaire Javier Botet’s physicality. Mama is probably one of my favorite horror movies of the new millennium because of the imagery in it and the edge of your seat tension Muschietti creates with the titular “mama’’s predatory stalking of her victims. It’s definitely a must-see horror movie.   

2. The Devil’s Backbone

Here’s the guy you’ve probably been looking for from the start of this list of horror movies by Hispanic directors, Guillermo del Toro. The man is an absolute genius filmmaker who has such a firm grasp on horror that he could have taken all 10 spots on this list. However, I decided to go with what I consider to be the closest he came to a straightforward horror movie, The Devil’s Backbone. What I mean by that is, del Toro’s work always has horror elements in it, but they tend to be more dark fantasy or science-fiction at heart. When he does go horror, it’s usually more gothic. For me, The Devil’s Backbone is much more revealing of del Toro’s core tenets as a filmmaker from a time when he had to get more creative with his budgetary restraints. It’s a haunting ghost story (no pun intended) filled with twists and turns that will send shivers down your spine.   

1. Night of the Living Dead

When I sat down to start pulling together this list of Horror Movies by Hispanic directors, I was not expecting to include Geroge A. Romero on it. While doing my research, I found out that his dad was actually born in Spain and raised in Cuba, making George a first-generation immigrant to the good old U.S. He revolutionized modern horror with his masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead. Anyone who is a fan of horror has probably seen this one a dozen times making it probably the most well-known film on this list. However, I wanted to spotlight it in the number one spot because I had no idea that Romero was Hispanic and I think it’s important to know just how tremendous of an impact Hispanic directors have had on horror over the years. When people talk about the greatest horror directors of all time, Romero’s name is inevitably mentioned making him the big dawg for now. There are a lot of up and comers who might give him a run for the top spot in the near future though. 

Honorable Mention: From Dusk till Dawn

I love Robert Rodriguez because he’s a renegade. He makes the movies that he wants to when he wants to and has built the skills and resources to make them possible. He’s come a long way since his days of volunteering as a medical test subject in order to finance his films and has his own production company now. As far as horror goes, I had to give an honorable mention to From Dusk till Dawn since it’s one of the best vampire movies ever made. Sure, it’s not the scariest horror movie of all time, but it’s just so much fun to watch in a 70s grindhouse kind of way. The fact that Quentin Tarantino suffers a brutal death in the movie is just the cherry on top of this deliciously campy blood-filled splatter flick. From Dusk till Dawn might not give you nightmares, but it’s the perfect horror flick to watch with friends, a couple of beers, and a pizza on a Friday night. 

Shout-Out: The Blair Witch Project

For better or for worse, The Blair Witch Project had a huge impact on 21st-century horror and caused the found-footage technique to explode. Yeah, it inspired a lot of bad directors to make terrible found-footage films trying to capture a bit of the success that The Blair Witch Project saw. Not many people know that it was actually a student film that happened to have been produced by my fellow alumni from the University of Central Florida (I’ve never actually met any of the filmmakers. They were before my time.). Fewer people might know that co-director/producer  Eduardo Sanchez is Hispanic. That’s why I wanted to give The Blair Witch Project a shout-out because it just goes to show once again how impactful Hispanic directors have been on the horror genre over the years.

Those are my picks for the best horror movies by Hispanic directors. I did a lot of research for this list, but I’m sure there are dozens of other incredible horror films that didn’t get mentioned above. That’s why I want to hear what your favorite Hispanic horror films are in the comments below. As always, I’ll be updating the rankings above as new Hispanic directors release horror movies. So, check back from time to time in order to see how the results might change.